We conducted this survey after witnessing extremely low rates of participation by ASHAs on the Whatsapp groups. Our objective was to understand what is not working and what can be done further.
ASHAs were asked about what are the various reasons behind low activity in the whatsapp groups we created.
ASHAs were asked about what all we can do to increase participation by ASHAs in the groups?
Below we provide the Summary Stats from the Baseline surveys for the following dimensions -
We tested the ASHA’s knowledge about COVID19 spread in the state. They were asked to rank the top 3 districts with highest number of cases. Responses are given below -
For each of these, ASHA was asked to describe whether the person described is a suspect/probable covid infected person -
What measures/advisory need to be given by ASHAs/ANMs to household members of someone who tests positive for coronavirus?
What measures have been taken by the ASHA to reduce the stigma surrounding covid-19?
ASHAs were asked how much did they agree or disagree with the following statements -
ASHAs were asked to list out the types of people who are required to be under home quarantine for atleast a week or longer, as a precautionary measure, to prevent the virus from spreading
Do residents in ASHA’s village follow hygiene practices such as washing hands regularly and covering one’s face when stepping out
Who are the other kinds of people in the village that help and support ASHAs in their coronavirus related duties like spreading awareness and health information?
How many ASHAs are a part of your subcenter?
NOTE : All the ASHAs (n = 95) said they are connected with (have regular interactions with) other ASHAs in the Sub-center
How many ASHAs are you connected to, outside of your sub-center? By connected, we mean, you speak with them regularly, either in person or over the phone, and have had regular and multiple interactions with them.
As a part of this Pilot we tried to contact 530 ASHAs, of which we were able to talk to 325 and 95 had whatsapp on their own phone
We Were able to create 17 Whatsapp Groups (7 composed of Friends and 10 composed of Strangers) with around 4-5 ASHAs each. Each of these groups was then put in one of the following cells :